Esteury Ruiz's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

Oakland Athletics outfielder Esteury Ruiz (knee, wrist) underwent arthroscopic right-knee surgery on Tuesday in Texas, the team announced. Ruiz was already ruled out for the remainder of the 2024 season due to a strained left wrist, and now he'll be rehabbing a knee procedure this offseason on top of it. The 25-year-old speedster specifically had a patella tendon debridement and chondroplasty done to his knee. After stealing a league-high 67 bases in his first year in Oakland in 2023, Ruiz was a massive disappointment for fantasy managers hoping to lock down stolen bases by taking him in drafts. Ruiz only played in 29 games at the major-league level in 2024 and hit .200/.270/.382 with a .652 OPS, two homers, two doubles, a triple, eight RBI and five stolen bases in 65 plate appearances. The A's sent him down to the minors early in the year and he was never able to recover.

Oakland Athletics outfielder Esteury Ruiz (wrist) was ruled out for the rest of the season today per Athletics manager Mark Kotsay. Ruiz has been out since late May after straining his left wrist. The 25-year-old had been playing in rehab games as part of his progression back to the major league club but was pulled off his rehab assignment on July 20th. Ruiz was having a so-so season at the plate, hitting for an 87 OPS+, on par with his production in 2023. He stole just five bases in 29 games, well behind pace from his 2023 clip of 67 stolen bases in 132 games. Ruiz will have to wait until 2025 to improve his numbers. Fantasy managers that happen to still be holding onto him can cut bait for the rest of 2024. Those looking for outfield help should turn to JJ Bleday, who is hitting for a .972 OPS in August.

Oakland Athletics outfielder Esteury Ruiz (wrist) played a full nine innings in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League on Tuesday in center field but went 0-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and three strikeouts. Ruiz could be ready to rejoin the A's big-league roster for the start of the second half of the season in Friday's series opener against the Los Angeles Angels after playing a full game on defense. The 25-year-old speedster has now played in five games and received 21 plate appearances on his minor-league rehab assignment. The bigger question will be how much Ruiz will play once he's back in Oakland. After stealing a league-high 67 bases in 2023, Ruiz has hit just .200 (11-for-55) this year with two homers, eight RBI and only five stolen bases with inconsistent playing time in 29 games in 2024.

Oakland Athletics outfielder Esteury Ruiz (wrist) played in another minor-league rehab game on Sunday with Single-A Stockton and went 2-for-3 with an RBI while playing seven innings in left field. Ruiz played a full game for Stockton on Friday as the designated hitter and then had the day off on Saturday. The 25-year-old has hit safely in all four of his rehab games for Stockton to this point and could come off the injured list to rejoin the big-league roster when the second half of the season starts on Friday following the All-Star break. Ruiz led all of baseball with 67 stolen bases last year, but he was hitting .200 (11-for-55) with only five steals in 29 games this year before his injury. He's obviously valuable for his speed, but the A's made it clear earlier this season that they won't guarantee Ruiz regular playing time when he's healthy.

Oakland Athletics outfielder Esteury Ruiz (wrist) has performed well across his first three rehab games but is still "a ways away" from returning to the majors, according to manager Mark Kotsay. Kotsay further explained that since Ruiz was out of action for an extended period of time, he wanted to make sure he got enough at-bats and felt comfortable before returning to the majors. The 25-year-old was placed on the injured list on May 23 with a strained wrist. In his first three rehab games, he has performed quite well with a .500/.583/.750 slash line with two doubles, four RBI, and one stolen base. Ruiz could be worth a look in category leagues once he returns to the majors in the second half of the summer due to his elite speed, as he stole 67 bases in 2023.